


break all the rules for you

by rainbowrabblerouser



Series: written because I'm lonely, melancholic, gay, yearning, aching, and pining and– [3]
Category: It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Genre: Adoption, Domestic Fluff, Engagement, Falling In Love, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Sharing a Bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-09
Updated: 2020-04-09
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:55:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,182
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23561170
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rainbowrabblerouser/pseuds/rainbowrabblerouser
Summary: Mac and Charlie are in love.Their kid thinks so too.
Relationships: Charlie Kelly/Mac McDonald
Series: written because I'm lonely, melancholic, gay, yearning, aching, and pining and– [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1712041
Comments: 2
Kudos: 29





	break all the rules for you

**Author's Note:**

> "Your Type" - Carly Rae Jepsen

Mac didn’t mind how close he and Charlie were since...well, forever. There was a space right next to him where there was barely any gaps and much more uncertainty – but all familiarity – where there was Charlie. His childhood best friend. His first crush. His first kiss. His first everything.

He always thought you couldn’t ever replace a love like that. When were you ever gonna find another childhood crush? Never! The damage was done by the day you turned 18 and it was irreparable. Good luck with that. 

So when Charlie’s hands lingered on his hips when they embraced and his gaze stayed a little longer on Charlie when his shirt lifted up a little and they fell asleep in each other’s arms, Mac didn’t make a big deal about it. 

He was glad neither did Charlie. 

Charlie was weird, but he was his type of weird.

So there they were, sleeping in Mac’s bed because Charlie had come over last night – something about a nightmare he had about aliens coming and taking him away from him. Mac just took him into bed and held him until they dozed off. 

Standard protocol for nightmares. 

Waking up was a different story. Arms tangled and Charlie’s face in his neck. It was all very normal and when he came back to bed with coffee for Charlie, it was almost domestic. Maybe he should have gotten a house with Charlie. 

It would have been awesome, but their ADHD would have gotten the best of them. Charlie hated the suburbs, it reminded him too much of his trauma.

“Hey, I love you, man,” Charlie says as Mac snuggles up next to him while they put a movie on one night. They had scheduled Mac & Cheezies times (Charlie had scribbled on a paper the times) where they watched B-tier, F-tier movies and cuddled on the couch.

A tradition shared between just the two of them.

“I love you too, Charlie,” Mac says without a beat. 

His heart skips one, but he doesn’t care. 

It was their most casual and frequent exchange when the others were gone. 

Sometimes, when Charlie is in his arms, Mac closes his eyes and just daydreams about a life with Charlie forever. It wouldn’t be too bad.

Mac is comfortable with his uncertainty.

  
  


Charlie is not.

As a hopeless romantic, he would just lay awake at night thinking for hours about what everything meant. It was perfectly normal for him and Mac to be this close. They had known each other since forever.

It was painfully easy for him to just slip with arms around Mac’s neck and sway to the music when they put it on while they cooked breakfast. It was so difficult for him to understand why it never phased him.

He’d tell Mac he loved him in hushed tones, whispering to him he’s glad he’s around when his nightmares overtook him, but Mac’s arms wrapped around him put him at ease and the comfort was all he could focus on.

Charlie had a huge crush. It was more than infatuation. He knew that because he would think about Mac, missing him even though he was in another room. 

Missing his touch.

He had known he loved Mac when they were just dumb teenagers and Mac insisted on them being each other’s first kiss because it “certified that they didn’t waste it on some loser who didn’t understand” him like he did.

Life was becoming more and domestic with every passing day and Mac would basically move him into his room. At this point, he could just buy a house with Mac. Or they could run away to start their doomed turquoise shop. 

It wouldn’t be so bad with Mac by his side, in their bed every night.

God, he loved Mac. Too much.

He wanted to scream it on the rooftops.

One night he just does. It’s cathartic. 

“I’m in love with my best friend!” 

“We know!” A voice shouts. It’s one of the kids in the other building across from his. 

“Do something about it!” 

The kid has a skateboard and is always skating around. He looked like a baby Mac, but he had freckles. He looked like he could be their kid. The boy was always seen alone. Charlie wondered where his parents were. 

Maybe he was like him, too independent at a young age. He sometimes bought the kid some Capri Suns and let him roast him about his late night activities.

“Caesar is what the losers on the street call me. My parents named me Wilbur, but fuck them in their graves if I’m using it.” He reminded Charlie so much of Mac, down to the cadence of their voices.

One day, he just adopts Caesar and Mac doesn’t really have a strong reaction. It was inevitable. They had talked about being parents before when Dee was pregnant, and he swore he could see Mac was disappointed when the kid was taken away.

Charlie and Mac save up to get a place in a new building. It’s too nice for them, but Frank would pay for it. He was rolling in social security checks and he was dying. 

What the hell is a dying man to do with money like that?

Caesar enjoys having his friends over and going to the skate park when his dads are busy at work on the weekends. He knows Charlie likes being called “papa” and Mac is cool with “dad” – but he knows his dads aren’t together. 

This is what he tells the kids in his orphan circle group therapy. Mac had suggested it and his aunt Dee seconded. Something about how traumatizing enough it must be to have Mac and Charlie as your fathers. 

He thought they weren’t so bad. No one wanted to adopt a teen, but he was lucky he yelled at Charlie all the time. His plan to get his parents together was going to work, all of his schemes did. Caesar was a master at getting what he wanted. The gang was unaware of how sneaky he was. 

Mac picks Caesar up from school and takes him to McDonald’s. Something was up. 

“I’m going to take your father out tonight. I’ll leave money on the counter. Have your buddies over, just don’t go out.” He sighs in the car as they drive to the apartment. 

“How come you guys never got married?” Caesar takes a spoonful of his McFlurry. “You guys are nearing 50.” 

“Things are complicated, kiddo. I love your father, but he doesn’t acknowledge it!” 

He hits a hand to the steering wheel. 

Caesar smirks and texts his friends. “Well, Dad, you could just tell Papa and he’ll understand. You two are practically married. You adopted me!”

Mac laughs, smart kid.

That night, Charlie says yes and they fall asleep as Charlie keeps gazing at how the iridescent ring shines in the light.

From trains to bars to basements to apartments to altars, Mac knew Charlie loved him back. He erased uncertainty and replaced it with confirmation.

**He was in love.**

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> tumblr: @rainbowrabblerouser


End file.
